Shoemaking



Feb. 10, 1959 F. MAccARoNE 2,872,746

SHOEMAKING Filed Feb. 1. 1957 o Figs [2O lFig-4 30 INVENTOR. FREDMACCARONE Qmkw E;

' Fig 5 2O ATTORNEYS United States Patent SHOEMAKING Fred Maccarone,Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application February 1, 1957, Serial No. 637,785

2 Claims. (Cl. 36-76) My invention relates to shoemaking and moreparticularly to a device for improving the comfort and appearance ofshoes.

In recent years women have come increasingly to favor open back shoeswherein the upper comprises a vamp and either entirely lacks thequarters or includes only narrow heel straps. In any case such shoes arenot held rmly n the feet by upper structure. One result has been that asthe weight is removed from the foot at the termination of the stride,the heel lifts away from the shoe. In addition to the rather sloppyappearance thus resulting, the shoe is not a stable platform. Moreoverwhen a seated wearer crosses her legs, one shoe tends to dangleunattractively.

The primary object of my invention is-to improve the t, comfort, andappearance of shoes.

An important feature of my invention resides in a resilient shank tongueanchored in the heel seat portion of the interior of the shoe andprojecting forwardly above the shank portion in position to encounterthe instep of the wearer in such fashion that the tongue acts as a levergently urging the rear portion of the shoe into contact with the foot.

Another feature of the invention consists in a cushion surrounding thetongue and cooperating therewith to provide a metatarsal pad lendingsupport to the transverse arch of the foot.

These and other objects and features of the invention will be morereadily understood and appreciated from the following detaileddescription of preferred embodiments thereof selected for purposes ofillustration and shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a view in side elevation of a shoe incorporat ing theinvention, portions of the shoe being shown in section,

Fig. la is a fragmentary view showing an alternative arrangement of theshank tongue,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the shoe,

Fig. 3 is an exploded view showing in perspective the elementscomprising the cushioned tongue.

Fig. 4 is a View in cross-section along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 is a view in longitudinal cross-section through the forward endof the cushioned tongue, showing an alternative embodiment thereof.

Although the shank tongue of my invention may be incorporated in allkinds and styles of shoes, it is particularly advantageous when embodiedin a ladys open back shoe of the type illustrated in Fig. l. The shoecomprises the usual outsole 10, insole 12, and a sock lining 14. Theupper comprises an open-toed vamp 16 assembled and lasted in customaryfashion, the rear portion of the shoe having no upper. A conventionalheel 18 completes the normal structure of the shoe. The shank tongue ofmy invention is best shown in Fig. 3

' where it will be seen that the principal element comprises anelongated strip 20 of resilient metal or plastic lCe provided adjacentits rear end with a pair of laterally extending apertured tabs 24, athird hole 26 being disposed at the extreme rear end back of the tabs24. Combined with the resilient leaf spring 20 is a cushion 28 of spongerubber or any other suitable resilient cushioning material. The cushionis generally of spatulate form having an enlargement or button portionat its forward end and recessed on the lower surface to accommodate thespring 2t). A cover piece 30 of leather or other suitable stout materialis cemented to the lower surface of the cushion 28 and forms a pocketaccommodating the leaf spring 20. Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 5, thecushion may include an integrally molded pocket for the reception of theforward end of the leaf spring 20, thereby eliminating the necessity forthe separate cover piece Sil.

To incorporate the shank tongue into the structure of the shoe, the socklining 14 is slashed transversely as shown at 22, adjacent the heelbreast line, and the rear end of the leaf spring 20 is inserted throughthe slash so that the rear end of the spring, including the tabs 24,overlies the heel seat of the shoe beneath the sock lining. Toaccommodate the thickness of the spring, the heel seat portion of thesock lining may be provided with a cushioning pad cut away to form arecess fitting about the leaf spring; alternatively the sole in the heelseat portion may be provided with a recess accommodating the spring insuch fashion that the upper surface of the leaf spring is ilush with theupper surface of the insole. Nails or other fasteners are driven throughthe three holes in order to anchor the spring securely in place. Itshould be pointed out that it is customary to employ a metal shankstiener (not shown) running rearwardly from a point behind the ball lineinto the heel seat portion of the shoe. The tabs 24 are dimensioned tostraddle the shank stiener so that the nails driven through the holes inthe tabs Will fall on each side of the metal shank i stiffener. The hole26 at the extremity of the leaf spring is situated far enough back toavoid the rear end of the conventional shank stifener. Other methods ofanchoring the spring in place will suggest themselves to those skilledin the art. For example, instead of passing the leaf spring merelythrough a slash in the sock lining, it may also be passed through asimilar slash in the insole so that the rear end of the spring will liebeneath the insole rather than on top of it. In the latter case thelower surface of the insole may be recessed to accommodate the spring.

The latter construction is shown in Fig. la in which the sole l2 isrecessed longitudinally in its under surface to receive the rear end ofthe leaf spring 20. At the forward end of the recess the insole isslashed transversely and the spring 20 passed outwardly and providedwith the cushion 28. This spring-supported cushion 28 now extendsforwardly and downwardly into free space, terminating at a pointsubstantially in advance of the ball line of the shoe bottom as in Fig.l.

It will be apparent, of course, that the whole rear portion of the shoebottom, including its heel seat and shank, is substantially rigid almostup to the ball line but that at the ball line and in advance thereof theshoe bottom is extremely flexible. This is one of the essentialrequirements of modern shoes of this class.

In all cases, however, the tongue is biased by its built-in spring sothat when depressed it tends to flex the whole rear portion of the shoebottom upwardly holding it close to the foot of the wearer.

When a shoe incorporating a shank tongue of the characterhereindescribed is placed on the foot, the spring is depressed from the dottedline position of Fig. l to the full line position. The resiliency of thespring pressing upwardly upon the bottom of the foot gently urges theupper portion of the foot' at the instead into firm engagement with thevamp. Thus the shoe is held firmly but gently in place on the foot`Moreover the shank tongue further cooperates with the foot and the vampto exert some lever` action tending to urge the heel seat of the shoeinto engagement with the v-/earers foot. The result is that the shoefeels more comfortable and serves as a more stable platform on which towalk. The action of walking also brings about a pleasant massaging ofthe arch of the foot by the forward end of the cushioned shank tongue,an effect which increases the comfort afforded by the shoe. lt has beenfound in practice that the shoe is so snugly held on the foot that itcannot easily be removed except by depressing the shank tongue with thethumb as the shoe is drawn ofi the foot; otherwise, the shank tonguetends to resist removal of the shoe.

lt should be pointed out that the Shank tongue imposes no undue stresseson either the sole or upper structure of the shoe and that the steelspring is not subj'ect to wear or deterioration.

While the embodiments of the shank tongue or my invention as hereinshown and described represent the preferred embodiments, manyalternatives will become apparent to skilled shoemakcrs. The dimensionsof the tongue and cushion are not critical, and the location of theslash in the sock lining is a matter of judgment depending upon thegeneral characteristics of the particular shoe in which the shank tongueis to be incorporated.

Having thus disclosed my invention what I claim as newand desire tosecureV by Letters Patent' of the United States is:

1. In an open back shoe including an outsole, an insole, and a shankstiftener, the combination of an elongated metal spring having aperturedlateral tabs at its rear end, fastening elements passing through theapertured tabs and y into the insole, said fasteners'straddling the rearend of the place, and Va cushion disposed on the forward end' of the.

spring, the cushioned forward end of the spring projecting above theshank portion of the insole.

References @CitedV in the tile of this patent UNITED srArns PATENTS1,847,168 Bringardner Mar. 1, 1932 2,370,275 Wards Feb. 27, 1945 UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE 0E CORRECTION Patent No., 2,537.2?746February lO, 1959 Fred Maoearone It is herebjir certified that errorappears in the-printed specification of the above A'Immbered patentrequiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read ascorrected below.

Column 3, line I., for' "instead" read s instep Signed and sealed this9th day of June' 1959 (SEAL) Attest:

KARL IL AXLINE ROBERT C. WATSON Attesting Officer Commissioner ofPatents

